New Buttons sets

[dave_r]

Don't really know why I'm jumping into this conversation, could I really have nothing else to do??   For what it's worth I don't think your icons really are any better or worse than anything else--except for Sno Navigator on the Camino browser. those are cool!  I wouldn't pay a pile of money for anything that's probably better left hidden in the interests of screen real estate and efficiency.  That's what the menu bar and keyboard is for.

Cheers,
Dave

[spacific]

Well I'll jump in with you. I totally agree. I hate icons as I never know what they stand for. Even the most beautifully designed icon is no match for a single word. Where possible I turn off icons and use text. Where I can't turn them off I waste valuable seconds trying to find which icon to click to do a specific job. "Is it this curly one here with the arrow? Let me hover and wait for the tool tip to tell me... Oh no, that's something else. OK, let's try this red and green one .. wait for the tool tip... !!"

I don't even like using the standard ones. "I think that's the Print icon, but it could be Print All or Print One Page, I had better check... No, I'll use the menu."  or  "Is that icon Save or Save As or Save a Copy?  I'll use the menu/keyboard, thanks."

In my own software I refuse to use icons. They just slow everyone down in my opinion. It's become a fashion. In fact I'm looking at a whole host of icons now: in the Post section of this forum. I haven't the faintest idea what most of them mean until the tool tip shows up, and I'll bet most users don't either.

So JD get rid of all icons, except maybe for the trash can. Save yourself both cost and real estate.
Cheers, J

[JD]

Well, mostly I kind of agree with you both, but what you have to remember is that one of the big things about the Mac is that it's gorgeous to look at... all that eye candy (iCandy™ ?)... people love it! So if there's an app which doesn't have the highly polished look then it tends to stick out like a sore thumb. Although you and I love Yummy because of its capabilities, people looking at it for the first time might be put off by a sub-standard appearance. First impressions, and all that. While I agree that my icons aren't all that terrible (I've seen a LOT worse) they aren't anywhere near as nice as they could be. Take Panic's Transmit icon as an example.

I've had the "your icons suck" message rammed down my feedback email account so many times now, I'm getting a little sick - now is the time to put paid to those complaints, even if my wallet is screaming "Nooooooo!"

Oddly enough, just another example of the 'icon problem' came up the other day:

NO LINKS ALLOWEDNO LINKS ALLOWEDmacupdateNO LINKS ALLOWED/reviews.php?id=15998&pid=184288

See? 

[spacific]

Maybe ....

But if you didn't have any icons, then no one would say they were poor 

There are other ways of making an app look nice. But you're probably right, first impressions and all that...

[justG]

Gawd, what a bunch of fuddy duddies you lot are. (I can say this because you're my forum buddies/mates and I'm allowed to poke fun at you and you won't take offence - right?)

I lub pretty icons. I maximise my screen real estate and minimise my visual boredom by keeping them small and captionless. Bring on the re-design, can't wait to see the new icons. =)

[JD]

Me too!